P312.8-B investments in first half of 2019

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – A 24 percent increase for a total approved investments with the Philippine Board of Investments (BOI) reached P312.8 billion from January to July 2019 as compared to the same period last year.

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said on Tuesday that majority of these approved investments, or 96.25 percent, are located outside Metro Manila.

The DTI also noted that approved foreign investments hit P69.6 billion through July, posting a 348 percent upturn while local investments remained upward at P243.2 billion, a 2.7 percent jump from that of January to July 2018. C

alabarzon remained steady at the top among regions, cornering the lion’s share with P203.3 billion or 65 percent of the total figure while Central Luzon was second with P29.3 billion.

The National Capital Region (NCR) placed third (P11.7 billion) or just 3.7 percent of the total investments to date. Region II – Cagayan Valley (P10 billion) and Region VII – Central Visayas (P9.4 billion) completed the top five regions.

Based on data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), in the first quarter of 2019, majority of the approved foreign investments were intended to finance projects in Region III – Central Luzon. This amounted to P22.1 billion or 48.1 percent. This was followed by Region IVA – Calabarzon with P15.7 billion or 34.1 percent, and NCR with P6.3 billion or 13.7 percent.

Trade Secretary and BOI chair Ramon M. Lopez said “investors continue to signal their strong confidence in the Philippines and the Duterte administration despite the challenges generated by the global tensions among nations.”

Lopez noted that “this growth was still resilient enough to withstand the global demand downturn” brought about by the lingering trade dispute between the U.S. and China, the trade spat between Japan and South Korea, and other geopolitical tensions.

“We remain among the fastest growing economies in Asia and we are among the few countries to even register a 1.5 percent export growth in July,” he said.

Lopez noted that elevated inflation is now a thing of the past as the latest inflation rate eased to just 2.4 percent, the lowest in more than two years. “We have improved 19 places further in the Global Innovation Index. With the recent signing of the Innovative Startup Act, we will encourage innovation that will make our products not only meet local demand but ensure it is at par with international standards to boost our exports,” the Trade Secretary and BOI chair said.

Meanwhile, among the notable projects approved in July, 2019 were the P1.4 billion 9.4 megawatt (MW) hydropower project of At Dinum Co. in Nueva Ecija; the P728 million hydropower facility of Coto Hydro Corp. in Zambales; Integrated Meat and Poultry Processing Inc.’s P410 million poultry dressing plant in Bataan; the P1.7 billion Airbus plane project by Cebu Air., Inc.; and the P381 million low-cost housing project of Borland Development Corp. in Batangas.

Singapore remained the top among foreign investors with P35.4 billion. Netherlands came in second with P9.2 billion, with Thailand (P8.6 billion), Japan (P5.8 billion) and the United States (P2.4 billion) completing the top five.